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Do We Need More Latino Scientists?

Inside Higher Ed reports on yet another report, this one from the University of Southern California?s Center for Urban Education, that measures the success (or lack of it) of various institutions ?in getting students from Latino backgrounds interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (or STEM) disciplines and, ultimately, to degrees.?

Yes, but why should we be concerned with the number or proportion or whatever of Latino students getting STEM degrees?

Like many recent analyses, the center?s report embraces the idea that the United States must -- for competitive, economic and other reasons -- draw more, and more qualified, young people into STEM fields to help ensure that it has skilled workers for the information age.

But like most of the USC center?s own work, the newly released study -- part of a three-year project financed by the National Science Foundation -- views the issue through the prism of an ?equity? framework, which it defines as ?creating opportunities for equal access and success among historically underrepresented student populations, such as racial and ethnic minority and low-income students.?

In other words, says Alicia C. Dowd, the center?s co-director and a co-author of the report, the study aims both to recognize the central role that Latinos (given their growing share of the U.S. population) will have to play if the country is to achieve the college completion goals set out by President Obama, and to focus on how well colleges and universities are educating Latinos compared to other students....

As I have argued before, I believe the only reasonable ?equity? concern is whether discrimination prevents individuals from any racial or ethnic group from having the same opportunities other students have to choose their own careers. Non-discriminatory factors, such as poverty, may also have a racially disparate impact, but in my view the appropriate response is to have financial aid available to all who qualify, not racially targeted financial aid. In short, equity, like equality, requires colorblind non-discrimination, not racial and ethnic proportionality.

But what of the combination of the national need for more scientists with the fact that Latinos will make up an increasing proportion of college students? Doesn?t that justify ethnically targeted policies to encourage more Latinos to become scientists, and to assist those who do choose to do so?

I have my doubts. If public policy should concentrate on the production of more scientists, shouldn?t research be directed toward developing policies and programs that produce, well, more scientists ? not more black, Latino, women, etc., scientists?

What if all the money and effort that has been and is being directed toward increasing the numbers of ?underrepresented minority? STEM students and graduates had instead been directed toward, say, increasing the number of Asian Americans in STEM fields? Now insofar as ?equity? is the concern, we don?t need any more Asian scientists because they?re already ?overrepresented.? But maybe with a little money and effort we could produce even more Asian scientists, in fact more than would be produced by spending that money trying to jack up the numbers of scientists from ?underrepresented? groups? Wouldn?t that be a better investment?

Just asking.

Full post as published by Discriminations on January 05, 2010 (boomark / email).